When One Gets Sick
by AnimeGirl 144
Summary: Guren falls ill and is forced to stay out of a fight taking place on Quarton. The team reassures him that they can handle the situation, but can they really?


**I was going to wait until the admins move the category to Anime/Manga and add in the character list but I broke down. This takes place after **"Extreme Titan"**, though not after **"Double Crossed" **and** "Checkmate"**.**

**I don't own **_Tenkai Knights_**, though I wish with all my heart that I did.**

**Warning: Lengthy story. And Mr. White's use of questions and riddles are not used because I'm terrible at both. I will attempt to do better for next time.**

* * *

The first thing Ceylan noticed upon arriving at his history classroom was that Guren wasn't at his desk. It had become a routine for the two friends that Guren would be in class first with Ceylan coming in later; it was almost a habit for Guren to arrive first. Ceylan didn't think anything of it and passed it off with a shrug, sitting in his chair and waiting for his friend to show up. When the history teacher came up and began class, Ceylan was a bit surprised to see that his best friend hadn't shown up.

_He's probably just running late, _Ceylan reasoned to himself.

Class went along boringly, but Guren never showed up. Not to any of his classes afterwards either. It was very strange, since Guren was studious; not super studious, but the kid seemed to pay better attention in class than Ceylan did. Guren not there was a bit unsettling to him. Speaking of unsettling...

"Guren didn't show up for school today?" Gen asked from out of nowhere.

Ceylan jumped several feet in the air upon hearing the other student's voice, whirling around to find Gen standing close behind him.

"Jeez dude! We need to get you a bell or something," Ceylan joked, though he was sending a glare in Gen's direction. "It's not nice to just sneak up on people like that you know."

Gen remained silent, creeping out Ceylan and pissing him off at the same time. It seemed to be Gen's specialty.

"Well?" Ceylan demanded, his patience worn thinned. "Do you want something?" He conveniently forgot all about Gen's earlier question.

"No," Gen responded with an almost bored tone, "just commenting about the fact that Guren's missed school today."

"Coming from the King of Absences," Ceylan snarked.

The mysterious teen just hummed at Ceylan's jab and walked away from the blue haired boy, not offering him another word. Ceylan just glared at his departure, muttering about how weird the kid was.

"Hey Ceylan!" two voices rang out, causing the blue haired boy to turn towards the calls.

Chooki and Toxsa came to a stop just before him, looking around him quizzically; both of them had noted the absence of their other friend.

"Where's Guren? Did he show up today?" Chooki asked.

"Haven't seen him all day," the boy responded. "Normally he arrives before me, but he never showed."

"That doesn't sound like him," Chooki commented.

"Do you think something happened to him after we parted ways at the diner?" Toxsa asked.

"Are you implying that your family's food killed Guren or something?" Ceylan asked, getting an angry response from his shorter friend.

"I'm not implying that at all you dolt!" Toxsa responded. "I'm just asking if something happened to him _after_ leaving the diner."

"He may just not be feeling well," Chooki offered calmly.

"You mean like he got sick?" Toxsa asked.

"Well it is possible," Ceylan comments. "I'm just surprised since he seemed okay last night."

"We'll check on him after school," Chooki reasoned.

"Right," the two others agreed with a nod.

* * *

"Whoa dude! Your face is as red as a tomato!" Ceylan commented.

"Way to make him feel better there," Toxsa stated deadpanned.

"How ya feeling?" Chooki asked sympathetically, fighting the urge to snap at his friends.

All three friends had headed over to Guren's house after school to find out what had happened to the boy, and found him terribly sick in bed. He was red in the face, his eyes were open halfway, clouded with sleepiness, and he was breathing a little loudly.

"Hey guys," Guren greeted with a tiny smile. "Caught something last night, but I'll be fine. Just a little illness."

"Little illness? Dude, you look like you caught a curse spell from my old _Dungeons and Spells _game," Toxsa responded.

"Do you need us to grab you anything?" Ceylan asked.

"Nah, my dad left me a lot of stuff close by in case I needed them," Guren responded with a shake of his head. "I'll be good, don't worry."

"Man, you're the only person I know who can get sick and not demand others to take care of you," Toxsa commented. "When Wakamei caught the flu, she all but demanded me to serve on her at every point."

"Yeah, but she's your older sister," Ceylan pointed out. "She bosses you around anyways."

"Do you know what's got you this bad?" Chooki asked, ignoring Toxsa and Ceylan.

"I've actually been carrying something mild for the past few days," Guren responded. "I guess the excitement of yesterday really just wore me down."

"Well you just take it easy," Chooki said with a smile. "Some rest will get you back on your feet in no time."

"What, no sports reference of any sort?" Toxsa questioned.

"I'm thinking of one," Chooki responded with a smirk.

At that moment, their cores began to glow, catching their attention.

"Oh man. Way to have bad timing," Ceylan commented as he pulled out his brightly glowing core.

Guren snagged his from its usual spot at his bed and began to sit up, attempting to get out of it.

"C-c'mon," Guren said, coughing a little as he forced his body to move. "We're being summoned."

Before he could so much as lift his legs out from under the covers, Toxsa and Chooki were pushing him back into bed. He stared at the two in confusion, but they only gave him a reassuring smile.

"Correction, _we_ were summoned," Toxsa responded.

"You just take it easy, okay? We've got this in the bag," Ceylan grinned. "We'll be back before you know it."

"Are you sure?" Guren asked. "I can come and help."

Ceylan waved the suggestion away with a wave of his hand.

"Nah nah. You just stay here and rest up while we go and handle it," the blue haired boy commented.

Guren looked at all his friends, seeing the determination on their faces, and finally relented. There wasn't any way he'd stop them, so he might as well just do as they said and just rest. Besides, while four made them awesome, three were just as amazing. They'd be fine without Guren there. He smiled and laid his head back on the pillow.

"Okay, you win," Guren relented with his smile. "Just make sure you give 'em a punch for me, 'kay?"

The three gave him a thumbs up and a grin.

"You can count on us," the three chorused.

* * *

"Ah, there you are," Mr. White greeted the three kids as they entered his little shop. "Where might Guren be?"

"He's at home," Ceylan responded. "Dude's majorly sick."

"Oh dear," Mr. White said in concern. "I hope he gets well soon. Will you three be alright to go to Quarton without him?"

"Don't worry Mr. White," Toxsa reassured, grinning with his hands behind his neck. "We three can handle ourselves."

"Plus we'll have Beag and the Corekai to give us some assist," Chooki added. "We may have had to bench our quarterback, but that doesn't mean we're in trouble."

"Awh man. And here I was thinking we were going to get away from your sports talk," Toxsa complained.

"Well it does balance out your geek talk," Ceylan commented.

"I do not speak geek!" Toxsa shouted, getting in Ceylan's face.

"Boys," Mr. White ordered, sounding firm and concerned at the same time. "You've wasted enough time as it is. Quarton is waiting."

"Right," the three chorused.

The three boys ran to the portal while Mr. White followed at a slower pace. The boys placed their cores in the slots, morphing into the Tenkai Knights and being transported to Quarton. Mr. White watched them leave and the room return to its normal brightness.

_I do hope they will be alright. This is the first time since they've become a team that they're down a man, especially one who doesn't sound like he'll be able to get here to assist them,_ Mr. White thought. _I just hope they do alright._

* * *

"Hey Beag! What's been happening?" Tributon asked as he and the two other Knights approached their Corekai friend.

"Tenkai Knights! I'm glad to see you!" the commander greeted happily. "Where is Bravenwolf?"

"He's uhhh..." Tributon looked to his two friends to find an answer, but they both offered him a shrug. None of them knew if Corekai's could get sick, so they couldn't really give their Corekai friend the truth. "He's busy handling something else."

"Ah yes!" Beag exclaimed, already coming up with an excuse that would be both plausible as well as keeping the Knights in their position of glory for his mind. "Bravenwolf is off scouting out another area just in case Vilius attacks elsewhere! How genius!"

"Uh, right," Tributon agreed.

"What's happening here Beag?" Lydendor asked, realizing that the commander hadn't answered Tributon's original question.

"A small unit was patrolling the area when Slyger and his men attacked," Beag explained, switching away from fanboy gushing to military seriousness. "My men and I have been fighting back, but Slyger has been gaining the advantage. However, now that you three are here, the tide of battle will surly turn in our favor!"

"You bet. Just leave it to us," Valorn responded.

"Thank you Tenkai Knights," Beag said, doing a quick bow.

"No worries about it," Tributon responded nonchalantly. "It's in our job description. Alright Tenkai Knights, let's head out!"

The three Knights ran off for the battlefield, blood pumping in excitement.

"Alright guys, hit 'em fast, hit 'em hard!" Tributon ordered.

"Duh," Valorn replied. "We're going to do what we do best."

"Yeah, and then we'll go slug Slyger for Guren," Lydendor commented.

"Sounds like a plan guys, let's get 'em!" Tributon exclaimed happily, leading the way.

"Yeah!" Lydendor and Valorn exclaimed happily, following after Tributon.

Beag watched them leave, informing his troops who were standing off to the side to stay behind until they were needed. Tributon was first on scene, saving a stray Corekai from one of Vilius' soldier. With a quick shot of his bow, his energy arrow destroyed him.

"Thank you Tributon!" the Corekai soldier said.

"That's what heroes do," Tributon responded, acting nonchalant.

"Heads up!" Lydendor called to Tributon.

Tributon turned in time to see a Corrupted soldier trying to surprise him, but Lydendor appeared, using his short blade to slash the soldier.

"Thanks buddy," Tributon thanked. "We need to keep our eyes open for more of their surprises."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Valorn responded, rushing into battle and blasting at a few Corrupted that were unlucky enough to be in his range. "You know this would go a lot faster if we had Bravenwolf with us."

"He's sick," Tributon responded. "We couldn't ask the guy to come to Quarton in his condition."

"I'm with Tributon on this," Lydendor added, swiping at Corrupted soldiers in his way. "There's no way our star quarterback was in any shape to assist in the game."

"Okay, really? Game analogy?" Valorn questioned. "Can't you speak normal for once?"

"Like you and your tech talk?" Lydendor shot back with a smirk.

"Touché," Valorn relented.

"Guys, focus!" Tributon cut in. "We need to focus on the Corrupted. Isn't it suspicious that none of Vilius' top guys are here?"

"Now that you mention it-"

"No need to worry," Dromus' voice broke in.

"We're right here!" Venetta continued, appearing out of nowhere behind Tributon and sending him to the desert ground.

"Tributon!" his two teammates cried out.

"Okay, that one hurt," Tributon stated.

Venetta giggled and jumped over to Dromus' side, both Corrupted agents looking down at the three Knights. Valorn and Lyndendor ran to Tributon's side and helped him stand to his feet. Looking upon Dromus and seeing that he was already in Titan Mode terrified the Knights.

"You're not very tough without your leader, are you?" Venetta mocked.

"Why don't you come down here and say that to our face!" Valorn shouted.

"Oh I will, but that won't be the only thing I do," Venetta replied.

"Once we beat you and give you to Lord Vilius, we will move onto your fallen leader," Dromus added. "He shouldn't be too hard to take down."

The three Knights were shocked to hear the statement; did Dromus know about Guren's condition? Just the thought of it sent waves of protectiveness through their bodies.

"Sorry buddy, but we won't be going down that easily! It's two on three!" Tributon shot back.

"Really now?" Dromus mocked. "I would count again if I were you."

A wicked laughing was heard from behind them, making them know instantly who was there: Slyger. Turning, they found him in his Titan Mode; seeing two Titans made them feel like idiots for not entering into their own Titan Mode.

"Oh man," Tributon muttered. "Rookie mistake number one."

"So long fools!" Slyger shouted, sending out his energy whips.

"Scatter!" Lyndendor ordered.

The three Knights jumped back, avoiding the hit from Slyger. Dromus and Venetta moved from their position atop the rocky mountain cliff and entered the battle fray, each picking a Knight to do battle with (Dromus to Tributon and Venetta to Valorn). The surprise coordination from the three Corrupted had the three Knights off balance, leaving them uncoordinated and unable to do anything but play defense against the three.

_I hate to say this,_ Tributon thought as he defended against an attack from Dromus, _but we really could use Guren!_

* * *

Guren was sleeping as peacefully as his illness would allow, trying to get as much rest as possible to help fight the illness. His core had stopped glowing after his three teammates left for Quarton, perhaps sensing that Guren was useless at the present time. However, sensing the trouble from the other three cores, Guren's core glowed brightly, projecting an image into Guren's sleepy mind.

_**Tributon, Lydendor, and Valorn, not in their Titan Modes, were standing around when energy whips were flung at them, forcing them to separate. Dromus, in his Titan Mode, and Venetta, not in Titan Mode, were fighting the three, quickly overpowering the three Knights with their teamwork and with a Titan form of Slyger. It was obvious that the Corrupted were winning against the Knights.**_

Guren's eyes snapped open after seeing the image of his friends getting themselves into trouble with Dromus and Venetta. Dromus was strong in a one-on-one, but teamed with Venetta and Slyger spelt trouble for his teammates. With his resolve set, Guren slowly moved out of bed, using sheer willpower to force himself up, dressed, and out the door.

* * *

Mr. White had been paying close attention to the battle on Quarton, so he hadn't heard Guren enter until there was a soft groaning from behind him. Turning, he found Guren using the wall for support, breathing heavily as he attempted to stay upright.

"Guren, what are you doing here my boy?" the elderly man asked in concern, quickly moving to the boy's side in case he should fall over. "You're as pale as a ghost."

"I have to help the guys," Guren answered, panting a little. "They need me to go into Robofusion."

"You can barely stand," Mr. White protested.

"I'll be fine," Guren responded, forcing his muscles to move towards the portal. He gave a slight grin. "Once we fuse, we'll scare Dromus and Venetta away."

Mr. White stared at him in concern, following the boy to the portal to assist him in case he fainted. If there was one thing the old man would say about Guren, it was that he was dedicated to his friends, even when heavily ill. Guren placed his core in the slot, grinning at Mr. White in reassurance as he was equipped with the Tenkai Knight armor and transported to Quarton.

* * *

"Bravenwolf sir!" Beag greeted when the red and white Knight arrived. "I did not expect you sir. The other Knights informed me of your business elsewhere."

Bravenwolf gave a nod at Beag, activating his Titan Mode. He was surprised to find that he was feeling better as a Knight, though he wasn't sure for how long that would last.

"I finished it. Besides, the other Knights need me," the leader responded, already taking off in the direction of where his friends were.

"Do you require our assistance?!" Beag asked, making his voice louder as Bravenwolf ran away.

"Yes!" Bravenwolf answered, never stopping his pace.

"You heard him men!" Beag instructed his army. "Assist the Tenkai Knights!"

"Sir, yes sir!" the assembled army saluted, following Beag's lead as the commander followed after Bravenwolf, who was already farther up ahead of them.

_I just hope I'm not too late,_ Bravenwolf thought as he rushed for where the six bots were fighting. _Hang on guys, I'm here to help._

Bravenwolf felt a sharp pain in his side, but he ignored it to the best of his ability, focused on reaching his teammates sides. He was happy to have the element of surprise because Slyger never saw him coming. He was able to slash the Titan robot in half with his energy sword.

"Bravenwolf!" Lydendor greeted in surprise. "Man am I glad to see you. Shouldn't you be resting?"

"I couldn't leave my team to face Vilius' goons all by themselves, now could I?" Bravenwolf asked before the sharp pain returned with vengeance, almost making the leader double over from the pain.

"Bravenwolf?" the yellow Knight asked in concern.

"I'm fine," Bravenwolf responded. "Nothing I can't handle, really. Titan up so we can help the other two."

"Right," Lydendor responded, giving Bravenwolf a quick glance at to make sure he wouldn't spontaneously drop to the ground and quickly Titan-ed up.

Dromus, unlike Slyger, was more perceptive in battle, and noticed Lydendor and Bravenwolf advancing towards the two of them. Dromus smirked in victory though, since he knew that Bravenwolf was weaker than normal. He pushed Tributon away, and shot at Bravenwolf.

"Hey you, fo-" Tributon was about to argue, but he quickly saw who Dromus was going after. "Bravenwolf!?"

"Here to as-Ahh!" Bravenwolf finished with a cry, the pain in his side striking once more, causing him to hault in place.

"Bravenwolf!" his two friends called out in concern.

Tributon quickly followed after Dromus, determined to stop the other before he could attack his friend. The call by both Knights had reached the ears of the brawling Venetta and Valorn, calling their attention over to the four bots.

"Oho, so the other is here," Venetta commented.

Valorn was concerned for Bravenwolf since he hadn't moved from his position. What worried him more was that Dromus was headed straight for him with Tributon on his tail.

"You okay Bravenwolf?" Lydendor asked in concern, standing next to his friend with a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"Fine," Bravenwolf responded, fighting the pain. "I just need a moment."

"Both of you, heads up!" Tributon warned.

Lydendor looked up in time to see Dromus approaching. He stepped out in front of Bravenwolf, ready to use his own body as a shield. The two of them were in Titan Mode, but Lydendor knew that wasn't a huge factor; Dromus was strong and powerful, especially in his Titan Mode. Dromus went in, slashing Lydendor and managing to push the bot aside. That left Bravenwolf up for grabs, except for the fact that Tributon had caught up and was drawing Dromus' attention away from the sick bot.

_Focus Guren, focus,_ Bravenwolf thought to himself, trying to catch his breath. _The guys need you._

Dromus had dealt with Tributon easily, and turned his sword upon Bravenwolf, forcing the other bot to the ground. The hit had hurt him more with the illness he was suffering from. Despite the pain, Bravenwolf managed to get to his feet, using his sword to help him up.

_Okay, that hurt,_ he thought.

"What's wrong, Bravenwolf?" Dromus mocked. "Not a 100% functional?"

"I'm functional enough to face you," Bravenwolf responded, doing his best to disguise the exhaustion in his tone.

"We shall see," Dromus replied, not believing a word from the leader. "I must thank you, however. You saved me the trouble of searching you out myself."

"Glad I could be of service," Bravenwolf grounded out, raising his sword up.

"You're a fool," Dromus commented.

"We'll see about that," Bravenwolf replied, running at Dromus.

Dromus raised his sword in defense, letting it strike against Bravenwolf's when they clashed. They pushed off each other before heading right back at it. Venetta was busy occupying Valorn, who was just as concerned as the others about Bravenwolf's health.

"It seems your friend is stupid enough to enter a fight when he's weak," Venetta commented. "A pity he'll go down so easily."

"That's what you think!" Valorn shot back, blasting at her with his staff.

"He's actually a big help!" Lydendor stated, appearing behind Venetta and hitting her with his dagger.

"Nice entrance bro," Valorn complimented.

"Not even your team ups will save you," Venetta sneered, sending off her webs at the two Knights.

"Assist the Tenkai Knights, men!" Beag's command came out of nowhere, surprising Venetta, Valorn, and Lydendor.

"Hey look!" Valorn said smugly. "It's reinforcements."

Venetta looked around, quickly assessing the battlefield. Their own soldiers were diminishing in numbers, and without Slyger around only herself and Dromus were capable warriors, compared to the four Knights (although their leader was obviously weak, he was still putting up a fight). She didn't like the odds, and although she hated to retreat, her sense of self-preservation was greater.

"It seems today is your day," Venetta stated to the two warriors. "But your days will soon be up, and you'll have nothing to fall back on."

Taking out tiny devices from seemingly nowhere, the pink armored bot threw the devices to the ground, creating a smokescreen to use as her escape. Dromus, from the corner of his eye, noticed the smokescreen and understood that to be the signal to retreat. He slashed Bravenwolf with a great amount of his strength, sending the leader to the ground yet again. He held the tip of the sword to Bravenwolf's neck, hearing the outrage cries from the Knights.

"Consider this your lucky day," Dromus mocked. "You won't have many more."

Bravenwolf attempted a comeback, but Dromus was already fleeing before he could do so. Bravenwolf watched him leave, making sure he and his fellow Corrupted soldiers were gone before he powered down, laying on the rocky ground. Tributon, the closest to his fallen friend, practically fell to his knees beside the ill teammate.

"You okay Bravenwolf?" Tributon asked, before hissing quietly enough so that the Corekai couldn't hear, "What were you thinking, coming here in your condition!"

"Got a vision that you all were in trouble," Bravenwolf answered through heavy pants. "Came to help. One mind, one team, right?"

"Stupid move, bro," Tributon responded, shaking his head disapprovingly although his tone expressed his relief and gratitude for and to the leader. "Stupid move."

* * *

Guren would have fallen face first after the portal shut down if it wasn't for Ceylan and Toxsa catching him just before he could.

"Easy there, fearless leader," Toxsa soothed, letting Guren place his weight on him.

"As glad as I was to see you help us out, you should have stayed in bed dude," Chooki commented. "You're practically as white as your armor."

Guren, eyes heavy with illness and the need to sleep, gave a weak smile. His pants had shortened and were less heavy as before, but they were still there; they were still alive, and Earth was still safe from Vilius.

"I know," he responded. "But I couldn't let Dromus end you guys, now could I?"

"Almost at the cost of yourself," Ceylan scolded as he and Toxsa made their way out of the basement. "Promise us you won't do something stupid like that again. That's what Toxsa's for."

"Hey!" Toxsa protested.

"Bring him up here boys," Mr. White called from the top of the stairs when the four boys came out of the basement. "He looks to be in need of some rest."

"I have to get back before-" Guren was cut off by a bought of sickness building up in his stomach, making him take deep breaths in order to avoid throwing up.

"Rest here first and then we'll call your dad," Ceylan responded as he and Toxsa carefully assisted Guren up the stairs.

"Or maybe I can call Wakemei and have her set up a wagon to bring him back home," Toxsa suggested. "We can't have Guren's dad get suspicious of this place."

"An excellent point Toxsa," Mr. White complimented as he followed the four into the room.

"Good idea," Guren added as he felt himself lowered to the couch. He stretched out on it, getting comfortable as he felt his eyelids lower. "Just make sure it's before dad gets home or else he'll freak."

Those were his last words before he fell asleep. Mr. White had gone off and produced a blanket that was draped over the sleeping boy to make him feel more comfortable. His three teammates quietly studied him, taking notice of how exhausted he looked. How could someone who looked so tired possibly have the strength to face one of their most dangerous foes?

_He's definitely stronger than we gave him credit for,_ Ceylan thought. _Maybe that's why the Guardians chose him. After all, he was willing to risk his all to assist us, even though he's obviously really ill. Would any of us have the strength to do that?_

"We should let him rest," Chooki spoke out loud quietly, pulling Ceylan from his thoughts. "He's gonna need it after today."

The other two boys nodded and quietly left the room, leaving their sleeping leader to catch up on some well-deserved rest.

_Get better, fearless leader._


End file.
